A court has ordered the Interior Ministry and the Family and Social Services Ministry to pay 400,000 Turkish liras ( ~14,000 US dollars) in non-pecuniary damages to the family of Ezgi Zerkin, a woman killed by her estranged husband despite being under a protection order.
Zerkin, 31, was shot and killed by her estranged husband, Deniz Özarslan, 36, on Aug 29, 2022, at her workplace. Her family argued in court that the authorities failed to enforce sufficient protective measures under Law No. 6284, which governs domestic violence prevention, despite Zerkin filing multiple complaints and requesting protection, including an electronic bracelet for the perpetrator.
The court concluded that the ministries were negligent in ensuring Zerkin’s safety, ruling that their failure to act constituted a violation of their obligations under the law.
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No effective measures
Despite a restraining order and numerous reported threats from Özarslan, no effective measures were implemented to protect Zerkin. After shooting her, Özarslan fled the scene within 23 seconds. Zerkin succumbed to her injuries in the hospital.
During Zerkin’s time in intensive care, police reportedly dismissed concerns, arguing that they could not intervene unless the individual physically enters the house and assaults someone, citing Turkey’s 2021 withdrawal from the İstanbul Convention, a Council of Europe treaty for combating violence against women.
Zerkin’s divorce case was finalized 10 months after her death.
Meanwhile, Özarslan was confirmed dead in February this year after bones found by a scrap dealer in İzmir were identified as his.
The We Will Stop Femicide Platform, a women’s rights organization that played a role throughout the legal process, stated after the ruling, “We achieved justice for Ezgi through our struggle, and we will continue our fight to end femicides. Wherever a woman is killed—in a square or in a home—you will find us there. In every courthouse where a femicide case is ongoing, we will be present. We promise Ezgi: We will stop femicides.”
bianet is Monitoring Male Violence
(VK)
